Revelations
by crayak
Summary: 1st in a series. When Aizen launches a massive assult on the Soul Society, Ichigo and his friends step in to lend a hand. But when Aizen captures Ichigo, a stunning revelation from the past is revealed. Please read, reveiw and enjoy!
1. Ambush

Hey there everyone. This is my first Bleach fanfic, so I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fic except for my own ideas and concepts.

Ambush

6th Squad Lieutenant Renji Abari ran through the narrow ally, occasionally looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being pursued by the enemy. He had been running ever since that last skirmish, and he finally needed to stop. He leaned against the wall and gasped for breath.

All around him he could hear unearthly roars from his enemies, and the death screams of his comrades.

Around two hours ago, large holes had opened in the sky above the Soul Society and massive amounts of hollows had come pouring out. The Gotei 13 had been caught completely off guard, the result being that the squads were spread raggedly across the Seireitei.

Captain Kuchki had ordered Renji to take an advance squad of men out while he organized the rest into battle formations. They had slain several of the beasts, but in the last skirmish, Renji had been separated from his men during the fighting.

But not for long.

Renji heard shouting from up ahead, and recognized some of the voices as those from his advance squad. He rushed to the source of the shouting, holding Zabimaru at the ready.

"_Hold on guys," _he thought, _"I'll be right there!"_

He prayed he would be in time.

The 6th squad advance force stood with their zanpaktos drawn and in a tight battle formation ready for anything the enemy might throw at them.

It was a useless gesture.

They stood facing more than two dozen hollows, all of them huge and too powerful for them to fight off. The monsters lunged at them, ready to devour. They braced themselves for the end.

It never came.

"BANKAI!". The squad opened their eyes, disbelieving. But it was true. Their lieutenant stood before them, a fur cowl draped around his shoulders, a massive wooden snake emerging from Zabimaru's hilt, facing the hollows, who had paused in their attack to assess this new threat.

"Get back to the captain now," Renji growled to his men, never taking his eyes off of the hollows, "I'll take care of this."

"But, lieutenant-," started one of the men.

"That's an order," Renji yelled in their direction, "Now get going! NOW!"

"Yes lieutenant!" the men shouted, and they turned and ran, disappearing around the corner. Renji turned his attention back to the hollows. "Alright then. Now back to business…"

The hollows lunged. Renji tightened his grip on Zabimaru's hilt and sent his snake-like sword rushing out to meet them head on. "HIKOTSU TAIHO!" A massive blast of spirit energy exploded from Zabimaru's mouth, obscuring all else from sight with a huge blue flash.

_Hueco Mundo_

"Lord Aizen, we are pushing the Soul Reapers back towards the center of the Seireitei. We have taken minimal losses of the hollows, and seem to be overcoming them in most areas," reported the minor arrancar. "Good, very good," murmured Sosuke Aizen as he slumped in the throne like chair, "And what of Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"A spatial disturbance has been detected in North Rukongai, we believe that may be them preparing to enter the gate," the arrancar reported.

"Excellent"

******************************************************************************

_World of The Living _

"Is everyone ready? Make sure you use the bathroom before you leave, there won't be time when you get there," said Kisuke Urahara with a grin.

Ichigo Kurosaki surveyed their little group. Chad, Orihime, Uryu and Yoruichi all nodded their readiness.

"Open the gate Kisuke, we're ready!"


	2. Trap

Thanks to the people who are reviewing! I appreciate them more than you think.

For those who want a timeline, this comes shortly after the 2nd arrancar attack, but Grimmjow hasn't lost his arm and been demoted (mostly cause Luppi annoys the hell out of me). Aizen gave him a severe talking –to (translation: lots of pain) and gave him an important mission instead.

On with the story!

**Disclaimer: **Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo. I own only my own concepts and ideas

Trap

Ichigo and the others emerged from the gate over the northern portion of Rukongai. He could immediately feel the spiritual pressure of what felt like the entire Seireitei, including several captains. He felt Captain Zaraki facing a huge cluster of hollow energy and smiled grimly. Sure enough, he felt an explosion of power from the insane captain and the hollows disappeared.

"Ichigo, look out!"

Ichigo sensed the threat the second Uryu shouted the warning out. He jumped backward to land beside Chad as the point of a sword impaled the spot he had been standing less than a second ago. He heard a sinister chuckle and looked up.

"Well, well, we are fast now, aren't we ryoka?" said Gin Ichihara as he retracted Shinso's blade from the ground. Tosen, Grimmjow, Yammy and Ulquiorra all stood in a clustered formation around him, waiting for Gin's order.

"What do you want, you traitor?," asked Ichigo as he shifted his stance to firmly grip Zangetsu's hilt. Gin's foxlike grin grew even wider at the inquiry. "Isn't it obvious, little ryoka?"

"We want **you**"

In the split second it took for the words to process in Ichigo's mind, Chad yanked him to stand behind his massive form as Yammy and Grimmjow lunged forward. "Ichigo, run!," shouted Yuroichi as she aimed a kick at Grimmjow, "We'll take care of these guys!"

"Why run, boy?," hissed Gin as he rushed Ichigo, who barely drew Zangetsu in time to block Gin's attack, "You'll miss all of the fun!"

Chad ducked Yammy's blow and responded with a powerful punch to the face that sent the larger man flying into a house. A blast of energy shot from the ruins, sending the silent teenager sprawling to the street. Orihime moved back, ready to support any of her friends if they needed protection or healing. Yuroichi and Grimmjow were locked in heated hand-to-hand, with neither seemingly gaining an edge.

Uryu, meanwhile, sent arrow after arrow hissing through the air towards Tosen, who dodged them all with little effort. "I am glad I have the chance to face you again, Quincy", murmured the soft-spoken Soul Reaper, "Last time I saw you, you had expended all of your power fighting Koretsuchi. It felt wrong to attack you at that time."

"You should have killed me when you had the chance!" snarled Uryu, just before Tosen disappered from his sight. A second later, a blazing pain swept through him, rendering him unconscious in seconds. Tosen withdrew his zanpakto from the young Quincy's chest, remarking as he did, "Apparently it wouldn't have made a difference…"

A glowing field of energy spread across the ragged hole in Uryu's chest. Tosen turned to see Orihime standing nearby, a determined look on her face as she stared at Uryu, concentrating on healing his wound.

For a long second, Tosen stared at the girl, debating. Then, with a minute shrug, he flash stepped away to help Ichimaru.

Ichigo and Gin stood, swords locked, each trying to move the other even an inch. "Give it up, boy. You'll only get your friends hurt more," grunted the silver haired former captain. "Funny, I was just about to say the same to you," Ichigo snarled, as Zangetsu began to glow and pulse with power. Gin's eyes went wide with surprise. "Impale him, Shinso!"

"Too late, fox face," Ichigo cried as Shinso began to glow. "GETSUGA TENSHO!!!"

Ichigo winced as he felt Shinso pierce his right shoulder, but he could not have hoped for better results. Gin had been slammed into the wall surrounding the Seireitei and now was just barley sitting up, several severe burns evident on his body. It would be a simple matter to walk over and slam Zangetsu through his heart. He had won, without even using his bankai.

Then he felt his body begin to go numb. He tried to move his legs, but instead they buckled beneath him. He heard footsteps and the Gin's low chuckle. "We all coated our blades with a paralyzing agent specially designed to react with your spirit energy," sneered the traitor by way of explanation. He picked the paralyzed youth up by an arm and leapt into the air beside Ulqiorra, who hadn't moved during the entire battle. The dark-haired arrancar dispassionately ripped a hole in reality from Soul Society to Hueco Mundo. Chad and Yuroichi saw what was happening and redoubled their efforts to reach Ichigo, but Yammy and Grimmjow fought back fiercely. Gin and Ulqiorra stepped though the portal and vanished. The portal closed.

Ichigo was gone.

And that's where I'll end chapter 2. A couple of things.

My explanation for Uryu having his powers back is that he expended so much energy in his fight with Koretsuchi, his powers simply burned out for awhile, but they returned naturally in time.

Yes, for a split second there, Tosen was considering killing Orihime, but he's a big softy at heart. He's one of my favorite characters, and will have a larger role in a later part of the series.

Urahara and Rukia will appear, as they play MAJOR roles in this series. I couldn't resist writing in a bit of classic Urahara humor there in chap 1 though.

I know my chapters are short! Bear with me please and I'll try harder!

Please read, review and enjoy! I'll update again as soon as I can! Sayonara for now!


	3. Captured

Hey everyone! Time for Chapter 3! It might be a bit short, but I promise more action next chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but my own ideas and concepts. Tite Kubo owns everything else (lucky punk)

Ichigo woke up slowly, feeling like he had just been stepped on by a Menos. His head was pounding, his whole body ached, and his throat was bone dry. As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw he was in a barren stone cell. There was a cup on a table next to his cot, and he reached for it eagerly.

As he thirstily gulped down water, he swung his legs over the edge of the cot and took in his surroundings. There wasn't much to see. The room was made out of gray stone. His cot was a slab of wood projecting from the wall, and the only piece of furniture was the table his cup had been on. As he raised his hand to drain the almost-empty cup, he noticed a slim silver band on his wrist. Only then did he realize he couldn't sense Zangetsu. Or his own spirit energy for that matter.

Ichigo smirked. The arrancars had made a mistake, and it was as big one. They had sealed up his spirit energy and taken away Zangetsu, assuming he would be helpless. And it probably would've worked, on any ordinary Soul Reaper.

But not on one with Hollow powers.

Ichigo could manifest his mask and sustain it for exactly 11 seconds, more than enough to overwhelm most arrancar. In addition, he had learned to tap his inner core of Hollow power, which would increase his strength and speed, harden his skin, and allow him to fire cero blasts of a medium power. With the bracelet to mask his spirit energy, he could break out, sneak through the hallways, find Zangetsu, and….well, he'd figure that part out after he had his sword back. He stood up and moved purposefully towards the door. Then it hit him.

His first, illogical thought was that Zaraki was guarding the door. The massive spirit energy he sensed had the same wild nature, the same bloodlust, as the insane captain of Squad 11. He stopped, hesitating, as the door suddenly flew open.

A tall, thin arrancar stood there. He was wearing a jacket with an overblown spoon-like hood that fastened at the waist. His hair was straight and black, hanging past his shoulders. But the thing that threw Ichigo the most was the white eye patch that covered his left eye. He wore a large, toothy grin that reminded Ichigo of a predator. The smile and the eye patch reminded Ichigo all too much of Zaraki during their fight.

The arrancar glared at Ichigo with his visible eye. "And where the hell did you think you were going?" he demanded. "Did you think you could get past me?" He spread his arms wide and threw Ichigo a mocking grin. "Go ahead, try me! Let's see what you got!" Ichigo hesitated for a split second, then lunged.

Ichigo threw a punch at the hollows face, but he ducked it and threw a punch of his own into Ichigo's gut. Ichigo fell to his knees, then to his right hand. He pivoted, trying to kick the arrancar's feet out from under him, but he jumped, then lashed out with a kick that knocked Ichigo back.

As Ichigo gasped for breath, he felt something stir inside of him. "_Let me out",_ hissed his inner hollow, _" I can beat him!_" "_Shut up," _Ichigo snarled back as he got to his feet. He reached inside himself, to touch the core of his hollow power. He instantly felt a rush of energy, and he leaped at the arrancar for a second time.

Half a dozen blows stuck him in half as many seconds, and he flew back to hit the wall with a crunch. He felt his hardened skin and increased speed and strength seep away. He was beaten.

_"The hell you are! Let me out, before he kills us both!" _shouted his inner hollow. Ichigo hesitated. "_Can you really beat him? " _The hollow gave him a grin that was Zaraki-like in nature. _"I'll take that as a yes…" _he said as he let himself disappear into a corner of his mind, letting the hollow assume control. For a second, he stood frozen. Then his eyes turned black, the pupils yellow, and a mask partially formed on his face. A wide grin spread across his face as his spiritual pressure.

"What the…" was all the arrancar got out before Hollow Ichigo attacked, laughing demonically as he did. A dozen or so hard blows landed on the arrancar before he planted a kick in his attackers gut to get some distance between them.

That turned out to be a mistake. Black and red energy gathered in his palm, then flew out to strike the arrancar with surprising force. He flew backwards, hit the door, and kept sailing until he knocked a big hole in the hallway wall. Hollow Ichigo ran out, the mask slipping away as Ichigo reasserted control. He ran down the hallway, leaving the arrancar in an unconscious heap.

Now that he was out of the cell, Ichigo could clearly sense the thread of energy that led to Zangetsu. He followed around three turns until he came to a large, thick wooden door. Luckily for Ichigo, it wasn't locked, so he let himself in.

The room was an armory, with swords and other weapons piled everywhere. Ichigo located Zangetsu fairly easily, strapped it onto his back and took a deep breath. _What now?_ he thought. He couldn't open a gate back to Soul Society, which meant he was effectively stuck here.

Before he could think any more, he heard the sound of swords being drawn. He turned to see five arrancars watching him, each with a zanpakto leveled at him. One of them, a tall man with his mask covering half his face with his hair in a ponytail gestured at him with his other hand. "Let's go," he ordered, "Lord Aizen wants to see you."

Things are getting exciting, eh? Once again, a few things before I leave you.

How'ed you like my introduction of Nnoitra? I thought it was rather good, considering I haven't even read the chapters with him in it.

The half-hollow form was something that I just made up off the top of my head. What'ed you guys think?

So far, 340 people have read this, 4 have faved it and 4 have put it on alerts. And only 3 reveiws? You wound me, good readers. I'll make you a deal, if I have 15 reveiws by the next time I update, I'll write at least 5 pages.

And that's it for now. I'll update soon, I promise. Please read, PLEASE review, and enjoy! Until next time.


	4. The Revelation

What's up everyone? Sorry it's been a while since my last update, but a combination of work, sickness and a lousy Internet connection have prevented me from updating. Your patience shall be rewarded however, for this is the BIG chapter, the one that sets the stage for the other planned fics in this series. Enough of this though. On to: THE REVELATION (dramatic music)

**Disclaimer: ** Tite Kubo owns everything except my ideas and concepts.

Ichigo marched down the hall, surrounded by arrancars. The tall one with the braid that had ordered him to follow him was out in front. A bulky arrrancar with his mask remains sitting on the bridge of his nose like glasses was on his left, and a thin one with a cocky demeanor was on his left. A fat one and a short one with a sharklike grin brought up the rear. He had been allowed to keep Zangetsu, but he could sense enough of their spirit energy to know they were strong, almost on a level with the one that had been guarding his cell. There was no way he could break free.

He sensed a sinister aura up ahead, and knew that they were getting close to their destination. Sure enough, the hall ended, leading into a huge throne chamber. Ichigo stepped into it, his hollow guard fanning out into a semi-circle holding formation behind him, leaving Ichigo exposed in the center.

There were three figures ahead of him. On his left stood Ulquiorra, who stared at Ichigo with the same dispassionate expression he always wore, but he could sense his readiness. On the right stood Gin Ichimaru, wearing the same mocking grin that was always on his face. As he stared at Ichigo, his grin changed slightly, becoming no less wide, but growing more sinister in nature.

In the center, slumped in the enormous throne-like chair, sat Sosuke Aizen. His facial expression was bored, but it changed slightly when he saw Ichigo. It reminded him of a predator suddenly spotting his prey.

Ichigo wondered that if he donned his mask if he could catch Aizen by enough surprise to kill him in the 11 second time limit. No… Ulquiorra and Ichimaru were watching them too closely for a surprise attack like that. Better to bide his time and wait to see if the situation changed.

"Ah, Mr. Kurosaki, you've finally woken up I see," Aizen commented. "Very good. I've been waiting to see you for quite some time." He shifted his glance to the assembled arrancars. "Espada, dismissed," he ordered. The arrancars bowed and left, closing and locking the single large door as they did so. The Lord of Hueco Mundo turned his attention back to Ichigo. He glared defiantly at the traitor. "Yeah? And exactly why would you want to do that?"

Aizen smiled faintly. "Let me tell you a story, Mr. Kurosaki." He settled into the throne, and gestured for a minor arrancar to bring a chair for Ichigo. Once he was seated, Aizen began his tale.

"A few days after my friends and I left the Soul Society, I noticed a curious sensation in the back of my head. With a little probing and an application of spirit energy, I discovered something quite fascinating: a memory easement kido had been performed on me. It was quite strong, and only by leaving the Soul Society behind had I been able to discover it, for it had weakened in the different atmosphere of Hueco Mundo. By the strength and skill of the spell, I determine that the caster was none other than the esteemed Captain-General himself.

"Bull," interrupted Ichigo. "Why would the old man take the time to cast such a powerful spell on you?"

"Ah, but that's one of the fascinating things. The kido was not limited to me. There were spells of an exact strength on Gin and Kaname as well. However, the spell itself is not that important. The contents of the memory it lock _are_, however.

"The memory was that of a promising soul reaper, kind, skilled, and extremely powerful, with great potential for growth. He had been dispatched by his captain to take care of a hollow in the World of the Living. It was a routine mission, one that he had done dozens of times before, so nobody was expecting anything to go wrong. But something did.

"The soul reaper easily defeated the hollow, but it wasn't over yet. The hollow had simply been bait for a trap. A few dozen more powerful hollows attacked. The soul reaper managed to defeat most of them, but during the fight he had sustained a head injury. His backup arrived and took him to Squad 4 immediately, but it was too late. He had suffered partial memory loss and had to be discharged from the 13 Court Guard Squads." Aizen leaned back in the throne, his tale concluded.

Ichigo leaned back in his seat as well. "So what does this fascinating story have to do with me?" he asked. The predatory smile returned to Aizen's face. He stood, and with a single flash step, he was in front of Ichigo. "Why don't I show you…?"

Ichigo had Zangetsu drawn and pointed at Aizen's heart in a heartbeat. It made no difference however. Aizen held his palm out in front of Ichigo's face. A mysterious power seized the younger soul reaper. He was forced to his knees. With a flick of his wrist, Zangetsu was torn from his grip. It buried itself in the ground at an angle about five feet away. Ichigo screamed in agony as he felt Aizen's spiritual pressure penetrate his mind. The tentacles of energy forced their way deeper, and flashes of memory began to surface.

He saw himself dressed in the uniform of a soul reaper, much like he was now. He was wearing a unit patch tied to his upper right arm. Zangetsu was strapped to his back, but it too was different. It was in the shape of a normal, albeit oversized katana, and was resting in a large leather sheath, much like it had when he had first gotten his powers.

The memory disappeared. He was on a dark street, sword in hand, facing down a monstrous hollow. He was fighting the said hollow. He was panicking, shifting into shikai mode to fight the dozen or more hollows that had suddenly appeared. There was a blinding pain in his head. He felt the memories disappear in a rush, but they remained in his head as something exploded in the back of his skull, setting them free

He snapped back to reality. He was on his knees, and now he fell to all fours, and retched onto the ground. His memories had returned. He had been a member of Squad 9. He _was_ a member of the 13 Court Guards. This revelation stunned him.

Five feet away, Zangetsu was undergoing a revelation of sorts as well. It morphed into its previous form of an oversized katana. The similarly oversized sheath appeared on his back, waiting to receive its blade.

"By the way," Aizen began, "I'll be taking my payment now…"

Ichigo felt searing pain rip through him again. He felt as if a very part of his soul was being stripped away. He screamed again, only this time there were _two_ voices shrieking in agony.

When the pain finally stopped, he felt… different. Empty. He saw the reason why almost immediately.

His inner hollow was now standing next to Aizen. It was like looking in a mirror, except with all the colors reversed. The hollow stood frozen for a second, then began to laugh maniacally at his new freedom.

Aizen leaped back into his throne, a satisfied smirk on his face. Ichigo wanted to wipe it off of his smug face. "BANKAI!"

He was rewarded by seeing the smile disappear. "I didn't want to fight, Ichigo," he began.

"Too damn bad," Ichigo snarled as he stood up. "GETSUGA TENSHO!!!" A giant crescent blast of black and red energy shot out of Zangetsu at Aizen. He slashed a hand through the air horizontally, slicing the energy in two, dissipating it. Aizen had a gesture with one hand, ripping open a portal. The roaring tunnel sucked Ichigo in. He dimly heard Aizen say, "Give my regards to Yamamoto…" The last thing he heard was his hollow, still laughing maniacally.

Well, there you have it folks, the titular revelation. Things are just getting exciting. As always, a couple of things before I leave you.

How did you like my revelation? I thought it was rather clever, myself.

The return of Zangetsu's giant katana form is upon us! Let me know what you think.

In case you didn't catch it, we have 5 new Espada in the house! They are Grimmjow's Fraccion (yeah I know I mangled that spelling) I'll explain the new numbering order next chapter.

Ichigo's hollow is out of the Soul Reaper! How do you think he fits into Aizen's grand plans? FYI, he will be called Shirosaki (white one) until further notice.

Well, I've given you a lot to think about. Ill update again soon, I promise. Please review! I'm dying to know what you think. See ya later!


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